Lord, Hear Me, Save Me, Protect Me

Psalm 86:1-5(NLT)

“1 A prayer of David. Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. 2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. 4 Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. 5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.”

“Lord have mercy upon me. I know that my help comes from You. I need You now!”

Tribulation is a distress or suffering that might oppress a person for quite some time. It can cause gut-wrenching pain that makes us cry out “Lord, hear me, save me, protect me!”  Tribulations can strike at the most unsuspecting time, and we’re knocked off our feet because we didn’t see it coming. I recently heard that something like this happened to someone I know. She’s fifty-nine years old, and six months ago, she retired from her job of 35 years. After her retirement, she and her husband relocated to Florida and purchased a new home. She flew back to the North to finalize details of putting their old house on the market and to pack up the rest of their belongings. A few days after her flight back, her husband hit her with something that she never would have expected. He told her that he didn’t want her to return to Florida. When she first heard him say those words, for a moment she thought he’d lost his mind, but then she thought about his behavior over the last month. The signs were there, but she had refused to acknowledge that he was unhappy in the relationship.

After a relationship of over 25 years unexpectedly falls to pieces, you have to deal with emotions you never knew you had. The hurt cuts very deep, and you might feel as though you’ll never heal, but this isn’t true. 1Peter 2:24(NLT) tells us that Jesus Christ “personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he took all our sins, diseases, and sicknesses with him. Our Lord and Master had never done anything wrong. He was perfect in every way. He never sinned and never did anything against the Father’s Will. He, that was without sin, took on our sins and infirmities, so he could be made the payment for those sins. He was beaten, battered, and bruised for our sakes. He took our place on that cross and completed God’s mission so that we would be saved. Only Christ could accomplish this mission, and because of all that he endured, we can be free from the pain of struggle, strife, and devastating disappointment.

The work of Jesus Christ was not in vain. He suffered an unspeakably tragic crucifixion to save us from the darkness of sin and death. He shed his blood for us, so we cannot behave as though the price for our sadness, disappointment, sickness, and shortcomings hasn’t been paid. Indeed, it has. 2Corinthians 5:17(ESV) declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Tribulation cuts us to the core. It causes us to unwillingly travel to a place that we never knew was in us. In that place, pain is shockingly raw. It’s not new but old pain, and it has been residing in that dark place within, a place that has never been exposed to the love of God. It’s not pretty, but suffering can provide the necessary opening to God’s love like nothing else can. The work of our souls is not to allow the pain to remain hidden, but to face it with the confidence that God’s love is infinitely greater than our pain.

Psalm 86:1-5 teaches us that God is our Rescue, our Way-Maker. He hears us when we call. He will save and protect us. He wants us to call on Him when our hearts are broken, and we can’t find our way. Only God has the answers to life’s difficulty, and through Jesus Christ, He’s given us the victory. 1John 5:4(ESV) declares, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Trials and tribulations are expected and guaranteed in life. The defining factor for any of us is how we weather these storms. Will we trust God and accept the victory Christ has won for us in faith, or will we continue to punish ourselves by blaming the other person and putting ourselves through the ringer?

We have got to trust and believe that God offers us an exponentially better alternative, and it is to let go and let God!  Philippians 4:13(ESV) says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” This is the verse we should be confessing and thinking about all day long. Through Jesus Christ, we are overcomers. Our Heavenly Father is here for us in every situation. He is so good and loving, and He’s ready and willing to forgive any and all our sins and shortcomings, so we must lean on Him for strength and comfort. Isaiah 41:10(NLT) says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” God will help us, and He will never let us down.

James 1:3(NLT) tells us, “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” Don’t deny yourself the privilege of witnessing God’s love in a greater way and seeing your faith and courage grow in Him. Heavenly Father doesn’t want you to be a glutton for punishment. He doesn’t like seeing you wallowing in sadness. He wants you to have victory in life, and He is asking you to trust Him with all your heart. No matter what we go through, God is with us, and if we’ll be patient and keep the faith, He promises to comfort and heal our hearts so that we become stronger, wiser, and prepared for all the good things He has in store for our lives. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

“Lord, Hear Me, Save Me, Protect Me”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.